Features
Training in orthopaedics: The show must go on Morgan Bailey, Sabina Barbur, Daniel Cadoux-Hudson, Rishi Das and Daniel Marsland
A Morgan Bailey is an ST7 Registrar on the Wessex rotation, previously the Women in Surgery Representative for BOTA, she is currently the BASK research fellow for 2020.
Sabina Barbur is an ST7 Orthopaedic Registrar on the Wessex Rotation. Her primary interests are trauma and upper limb surgery.
fter a hard winter that saw numerous elective cancellations due to bed pressures in many orthopaedic units, we have been hit with a much bigger crisis in the form of COVID-19. It was immediately obvious that this was going to have a significant impact on the training of orthopaedic registrars both with regards to our day-to-day clinical activities and the extra-curricular events we attend to develop ourselves as surgeons. For some, the impact has been even greater, such as those who have fallen victim to postponement of exams and ST3 National Selection.
“After an initial period of adjustment to the change in clinical activities and the evolving rota patterns, consultants and registrars alike collaborated to help develop an educational program that could be delivered in the context of social distancing and irregular work patterns.�
The impact of COVID-19 upon training will be felt not only nationally but across the globe1. Our unit has traditionally had a reputation for delivering regular high quality teaching in addition to the scheduled clinical commitments of theatre lists and clinics. After an initial period of adjustment to the change in clinical activities and the evolving rota patterns, consultants and registrars alike collaborated to help develop an educational program that could be delivered in the context of social distancing and irregular work patterns. We would like to share our ideas and experience to encourage other units to do something similar. We feel this has a two-fold benefit of maintaining orthopaedic focus and raising morale in a time when many of us may feel lost without regular access to power tools.
Journal club Prior to the changes to working patterns that were introduced in the department in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Trauma and Orthopaedic Journal Clubs were undertaken once a month. In light of the significant disruption, and the need to respect the Government’s social distancing policy during the pandemic, the journal clubs were postponed.
12 | JTO | Volume 08 | Issue 02 | June 2020 | boa.ac.uk
Following the initial period of upheaval we have reintroduced the regular journal club teaching using video conferencing facilities. The Trust has access to Microsoft TEAMS which is a secure messaging application that also has the facility to run video conferencing and file sharing. This was chosen as the preferred method of delivering these education sessions as it allows for dissemination of material and can keep an ongoing record of meetings and conversations. The journal clubs have been set up fortnightly in the evenings, and have been based on the preexisting timetable in order to allocate supervising consultants equitably. Each consultant allocates papers relevant to their specialty. These papers are a combination of seminal work behind current orthopaedic practices and recent publications to enable consultants and registrars alike to stay up to date with current research outcomes. After the effects of the pandemic have passed, we hope to return to the face-to-face model that existed previously, however, the hope is that the lessons learned from delivering quality teaching remotely can be applied in the future. This will be a useful tool in the world of limited working hours and shift patterns that are commonplace in the modern medical workplace.
Registrar lead FRCS basic sciences tutorials Another regular feature of our departmental activity included a registrar lead lunchtime tutorial. Held once a week and supervised by a magnanimous former FRCS examiner, this was a session not to be missed. Topics were allocated to both pre exam and post exam trainees and the opportunity to present a section of basic sciences to peers has the benefit of deepening understanding in an informal learning environment. The tutorials were well attended, even managing to assemble junior FY1/2s, who were keen to broaden
